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Anthracite is the highest rank coal. It is a black, shiny, hard rock and is not friable. It is low in volatile matter and this makes it difficult to burn in rotary kilns. Anthracite is also relatively scarce; however, there are some locations in the world in which cement plants are located near anthracite deposits and thus it becomes economical to use this fuel.

To successfully utilise anthracite in rotary kilns it is necessary to take special precautions such as grinding the pulverised coal (fuel) to high coal fineness and special burner tip design and high retention time in the calciner are necessary to obtain complete combustion. The radiant nature of rotary kiln refractories and the clinker bed can assist in ignition in much the same manner as radiant arches have done in boilers.

Anthracite (“coal-like”) is a hard, very low content of volatile compact variety of coal that has a high luster. It has the highest carbon content (between 92.1% and 98%), the fewest impurities, and the highest calorific content of all types of coal, which also includes bituminous coal and lignite. Due to the lack of volatiles, it can only be burned in special boilers.

Anthracite has a history of use in blast furnaces for iron smelting; however, it lacks the pore space of metallurgical coke, which eventually replaced.

These burn anthracite or coke—sizes 20 to 30 mm. They are similar in design to domestic boilers, but are automatically controlled as regards feed, draught, and ash disposal.

The most common boilers are cast-iron sectional, tubular, and shell-type boilers (see Data Sheet No. 157). All these can be supplied with mechanical stokers for solid fuels, with natural or forced draught; or with oil or gas firing.

Anthracite is a naturally occurring smokeless fuel – very shiny, hard and dense – extremely slow burning with high heat output. Anthracite, also known as hard coal, black coal, etc. is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the highest ranking of coals. Because anthracite is 82 to 86 percent carbon, it burns at a very high level of BTUs – 25 million BTUs per ton (BTUs, British Thermal Units, are a measure of heat). Its cost-per million BTUs is significantly lower than the cost-per-million BTUs of gas, oil, electricity, cord wood or wood pellets, making it a much more cost-efficient fuel source. In addition, The low sulphur and volatile content in anthracite makes it an extremely clean-burning fuel. Anthracite produces virtually no smoke or particulate emissions, a major problem with cord wood and wood pellet burning stoves. Therefore, anthracite coal stoves can be used as alternatives to wood stoves/fireplaces in areas of the country where wood burning is restricted, due to air pollution problems, or where wood is scarce and expensive.

The Mined Anthracite Coal market has captured significant market demand and is expected to grow at an stable rate in the forecasted period. It is mainly due to increasing digitization and a rise in the population. Moreover, the government is investing in expanding its existing electricity transmission and distribution systems to cater to the rising electricity demand due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. Furthermore, Anthracite is used as a heat source, and/or carbon additive for steel making plants and factories in a number of industries. Thus, the steel manufacturers are more inclined toward the use of anthracite coal than any other type owing to it high carbon content and cost effectiveness. Use of anthracite coal leads to reduced cost of production for the steel manufacturers, therefore, contributing to market growth.

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/anthracite